Federal

Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

Source: Congress.gov · 496 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Secretary of Energy (the federal official in charge of the Energy Department) to get written permission from state governments, local governments and American Indian tribes before spending money from the Nuclear Waste Fund on a nuclear waste repository (a facility that stores radioactive waste). The bill is called the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act.

Who It Affects

The Secretary of Energy; the Governor of any state where a nuclear waste repository might be built; units of local government in areas where a repository is proposed; units of local government that waste would be transported through; and affected Indian tribes.

Key Provisions

The Secretary cannot spend Nuclear Waste Fund money on repository activities unless the Secretary first enters into a written agreement with the Governor of the state where the repository would be located (Sec. 3(a)(1)). The Secretary cannot spend Nuclear Waste Fund money on repository activities unless the Secretary first enters into a written agreement with each affected unit of local government (Sec. 3(a)(2)). The Secretary cannot spend Nuclear Waste Fund money on repository activities unless the Secretary first enters into a written agreement with any local government next to the affected area if nuclear waste would be transported through that area (Sec. 3(a)(3)). The Secretary cannot spend Nuclear Waste Fund money on repository activities unless the Secretary first enters into a written agreement with each affected Indian tribe (Sec. 3(a)(4)). Any agreement must be in writing and signed by all parties involved (Sec. 3(b)(1)). Any agreement is legally binding on all parties and cannot be changed or canceled except by agreement of everyone involved (Sec. 3(b)(2) and (3)).

What Changes

Currently, the Secretary can spend Nuclear Waste Fund money on certain repository activities. Under this bill, the Secretary cannot spend that money unless written agreements are first signed with the state Governor, affected local governments, nearby local governments involved in waste transportation and affected Indian tribes.

Important Definitions

The bill states that terms like "affected Indian tribe," "affected unit of local government," "high-level radioactive waste," "repository," "Secretary," "spent nuclear fuel" and "unit of general local government" have the same meanings given in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1051 To require the Secretary of Energy to obtain the consent of affected State and local governments before making an expenditure from the Nuclear Waste Fund for a nuclear waste repository, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, and Mr. HORSFORD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy to obtain the consent of affected State and local governments before making an expenditure from the Nuclear Waste Fund for a nu- clear waste repository, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Waste In- 4 formed Consent Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act, the terms ‘‘affected Indian tribe’’, ‘‘af- 7 fected unit of local government’’, ‘‘high-level radioactive 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1051.IH H1051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1051 IH waste’’, ‘‘repository’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘spent nuclear fuel’’, 1 and ‘‘unit of general local government’’ have the meanings 2 given the terms in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy 3 Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101). 4 SEC. 3. CONSENT-BASED APPROVAL. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not make an 6 expenditure from the Nuclear Waste Fund established 7 under section 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 8 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(c)) for the costs of the activities 9 described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 302(d) of 10 that Act (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)) unless the Secretary has 11 entered into an agreement for a repository with— 12 (1) the Governor of the State in which the re- 13 pository is proposed to be located; 14 (2) each affected unit of local government; 15 (3) any unit of general local government contig- 16 uous to the affected unit of local government if 17 spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste will 18 be transported through that unit of general local 19 government for disposal at the repository; and 20 (4) each affected Indian tribe. 21 (b) CONDITIONS ON AGREEMENT.—Any agreement 22 for a repository under this Act— 23 (1) shall be in writing and signed by all parties; 24 (2) shall be binding on the parties; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1051.IH H1051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1051 IH (3) shall not be amended or revoked except by 1 mutual agreement of the parties. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Mar 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1051.IH H1051 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.